Product review: I.M. Healthy Chocolate SoyNut Butter

This jar sat in our cold, dark pantry, unopened, for months and months after I had snapped it up on clearance at a natural foods market.  I had seen varieties of soynut butter but this was my first and only sighting of chocolate soynut butter.  I was intrigued at the time but tucked it onto a crowded shelf that eventually became even more crowded with our pantry staples.

I came upon this forgotten jar in the spring -- conveniently right before the "best if used by" date -- so I knew it was time to pull off the seal, and have a try.  Oh my.  What had I been waiting for??

I think I.M. Healthy's chocolate soynut butter is pretty darn tasty.   It's not as decadent and rich as the dairy-filled, hazelnut spread Nutella -- I.M.'s texture is fluffier and not gooey.  Even so I.M. Healthy's chocolate soynut butter has a pleasant cocoa taste, slightly nutty, even though it's nut-free.  (Must be those roasted soy "nuts"!)  I liked it.  But would my picky, picky kids like it?

The kids liked it more in the beginning when I made chocolate soynut butter and banana sandwiches but they grew quickly tired of the combo.  They will eat it sometimes on untoasted whole bread, no bananas, but they are not clamoring for chocolate sandwiches all the time.  This will be a good lunch option to mix things up a bit every couple of weeks.  I should be grateful that they are not particularly fond of sweet sandwiches, right?

In addition to sandwiches, I.M Healthy's chocolate soynut butter is great as a quick frosting.  We keep a stash of unfrosted cupcakes in the freezer so that we always have a safe treat to bring to friends' parties.  the chocolate soynut butter requires no refrigeration and is especially convenient when you just need to frost one or two cupcakes.

Sprinkles and I.M Healthy's chocolate soynut butter on top of a GF cupcake.  Yum!

The company, I.M. Healthy, also makes other soy nut butters.  Their products, as clearly labeled, are made in a peanut-free, tree nut-free facility.  I called the company's toll-free line, was momentarily rendered speechless when a live person answered the phone (so nice!), and found out that their facilities are also DAIRY-FREE, EGG-FREE, and WHEAT-FREE.  Woo hoo!

I.M. Healthy's chocolate soy nut butter has a little more fat, protein, and fiber than Nutella.  One thing that I.M. Healthy has a lot less of is sugar, one third of the sugar per serving than Nutella.  I was lucky to find a 6-pack of the spread on Amazon during a random sale in April (6 jars for $15!).  This stuff is definitely hard to find.  I have seen prices range from $5 to $6 per jar through Amazon, Walmart, and non-chocolate I.M. Healthy soynut butters for about the same at Vitacost.

Ryken has a classmate, we'll call him "Q" for privacy sake, who loved to bring Nutella sandwiches to school.  Q is a sweet and close friend who, upon finding out that Ryken was allergic to Nutella, gave up his favorite lunch option so that he could continue sitting with Ryken at the allergy-free table.  After finally trying the chocolate soynut butter and getting my hands on more jars, I gave one to Q's family to try out.  I hope to see this in Q's lunchbox this fall!


I.M. Chocolate Soy Nut Butter Nutritional Information*:

Product: I.M Healthy Chocolate SoyNut Butter
Product size: 15 oz
Serving size: 2 Tablespoons
Total fat per serving: 14 grams (compared to 12 grams in Nutella, 16 grams in Skippy No-Stir peanut butter, and 16 grams in Trader Joe's sunflower seed butter)
Dietary fiber: 3 grams (compared to 1 gram in Nutella, 2 grams in the peanut butter, 7 grams in the sun butter)
Sugar: 7 grams (compared to 21 grams in Nutella and 3 grams in both the peanut butter and sun butter)
Protein: 5 grams (compared to 2 grams in Nutella, 7 grams in both the peanut butter and sun butter)


*The nutritional information was taken from the company's website.  This information differs slightly from the nutritional info found on the label of chocolate soynut butter jars that I had purchased in May.  I am guessing that the company's website features the most current facts.

Getting Back on Track & Fish Tacos (No Egg, No Dairy)

During the summer, life slows down.  Without homework to complete, team sports practices to rush off to, or school volunteer commitments, you would think our lives are stress-free during the summer.  But as the weeks go on, a subtle regression takes place to a life where any semblance of a schedule is nonexistent.

Yep, sneaky little thing, the fall to chaos.  And then you're back dealing with the same old stuff you're dealing with during the school year: the repetitive dinner dishes, kids want to "help," but you have very little time to shop or prepare, and everyone's food allergies and disparate tastes exacerbate the situation.  Time for a change of pace.

First, get everyone back into a routine by making sure they understand their daily roles and responsibilities.  I am a true believer in incentives.  I found this website called Kidspointz where you can assign each child tasks/responsibilities/chores using a points and rewards system.  Kids can help develop their online charts, along with the rewards they are coveting (right now, the kids are really into computer time, online game subscriptions, special outings, etc).  We are into week two and beds are still made, daily reading time is still observed, and whining is down to a minimum.  Eventually their responsibilities will be habit and their rewards will come naturally--that's the hope, anyway.

As for the perpetual question, "What's for dinner?" we recently tried a simple recipe for fish tacos with much success.  The kids were able to help, the bulk of it can be made in advance, and the use of frozen fish sticks buys me an extra day or two between grocery store visits.

The key to making this recipe allergy-friendly is finding frozen fish sticks and a mayonnaise that work for your family.  We use Trader Joe's Lightly Breaded Fish Sticks Reduced Fat.  They contain wheat, but are dairy, egg, and soy free, which are the usual fish stick culprits.  If your kids are fish allergic, try substituting allergy-friendly chicken nuggets or grilled fish or chicken for a gluten-free option.

As for the mayonnaise, for this recipe we tried Nasoya Vegan Nayonaise.  It seemed to separate a bit in the jar and had a yellowish tinge, but when we made the coleslaw dressing, it was smooth as silk.

For picky eaters, try a plainer coleslaw (my 8-year-old swears by just cabbage, sugar, salt, pepper, apples, and raisins), and try creating a plate instead of putting it together into a taco.  Your kids might surprise you by piling everything together anyway (see exhibit A below).  Have the kids help you cook, or try adding in a favorite ingredient to make trying something new a bit easier.  I also added a bit more sugar to taste, and substituted apple cider vinegar for the red wine vinegar.

"Exhibit A:" She started off with everything separate, but quickly moved on to a taco.

Easy Fish Tacos (NO Dairy, NO Egg)

Ingredients:

Coleslaw, adapted from Tyler Florence's Ultimate Coleslaw Recipe

1 cup mayonnaise, like Nasoya Vegan Nayonaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 store-bought bag of shredded green cabbage (8 oz)
1 store-bought bag or shredded red cabbage (8 oz)

Fish sticks (like Trader Joe's Lightly Breaded Fish Sticks Reduced Fat)

Corn tortillas
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

1. Pre-heat oven and pop the fish sticks in to bake on a foil-lined baking pan.  Bake as directed on box.

2.  Make the coleslaw by combining all the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, then tossing it with the cabbage.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3.  Pan fry the corn tortillas and set aside for serving.

4.  Allow kids to assemble the tacos and enjoy!

Weekend Getaways: Food 101 for the Family with Food Allergies

For some, summer means travel.  I relish the lazy days close to home myself, but if we had the option to travel all summer long, I might very well consider it.  Unfortunately, for a food allergy family, traveling is a challenge with an enormous amount of planning involved.

With a severely food allergic child, I feel less and less comfortable eating out, especially when we're far from home.  I think I've got the Epinephrine to ER thing down pat when we're at home, but being on vacation with an allergic reaction is a different story all together.

So I try very hard to limit our restaurant eating and do as much preparing and cooking as I can.  We will be away this weekend for a rare mini getaway with the family, and although we will be within an hour from home, I still have a lot of planning to do.  Some tips to make the getaway more like a vacation and hopefully, less stressful:

1. If you can, book a hotel with a refrigerator at the very least, and for longer trips, some form of a kitchen or microwave is essential.  If there's no microwave in the room, there may be one available for use, like in the lobby.

2. Seek out the markets near your hotel before you go, and plan on making a few trips with a list of easy, allergy-friendly, low maintenance food options in hand.  Some forethought saves you time in the long run.

3. If there is a stove available, bring your own pots/pans and cooking utensils.  This cuts out the mystery and puts some of your cross-contamination worries at ease.

4.  Bring paper goods and disposable eating utensils.  No one likes to wash dishes on vacation, but this is especially important if all you have is a fridge.  An added bonus: kids can eat by the pool and not skip a beat!

5.  Bring drinks or water bottles and lots (and lots) of non-perishable snacks to pack for day trips, have by the pool, or satisfy a craving.  Some of our favorites are safe granola or breakfast bars, crackers, popcorn, fruit or fruit and gel cups (like Dole Fruit and Gel Cups), fruit leathers, seeds, and dried seaweed.

If you're a seasoned food allergy mama you likely already follow these guidelines religiously.  For those of you who might be starting out, know that you CAN have fun while on vacation.  And yes, we were the ones with the 8 grocery bags filled with food upon check-in, but we were also the ones who spent a fabulous 87 degree day by the pool.

Wishing you safe and happy travels this summer!

Bakery-style Chocolate Chip Cookies - free of the top 8 allergens

If you have followed Get Allergy Wise for awhile, you know that most of my recipes are adaptations of preexisting recipes.  I definitely need other recipes as road maps and realize how lucky I am to be able to search the web to find much of what I am looking for.  Recently acquired some parsnips but never cooked with them?  Search for recipes on the internet!  Only have carrots, onions, salsa, and a bag of rice in your cupboards?  Get meal ideas on the internet!  Seriously, we are spoiled with convenient, expansive information these days.

Despite the internet's bottomless pit of great recipes, I am still a fiddler by nature.  I can't help but play around with recipes -- sometimes a little and sometimes a lot -- to fit the needs of my milk-allergic, nut-allergic kids or to lower the sugar content, or to fulfill our family's lifestyle choice of eating more plants and less meat.

So it says a lot (and is pretty rare) when I do *not* find a thing to change about a recipe.  One such recipe is vegan author Dreena Burton's recipe for homestyle chocolate chip cookies.  The recipe is a favorite cookie recipe of mine.  When I first discovered it online two years ago, I think I made batches of it for three months straight, I was that addicted.  I love that the cookie uses oil rather than vegan margarine or shortening and also uses a good amount of maple syrup as the main sweetener.  Even Dreena's estimated bake time (11 minutes) was exactly right for my oven.  Okay, the one thing I did change was that I omit the molasses but that is because I never have any on hand.  Besides that, I couldn't find anything to change about this recipe!

I love Dreena's chocolate chip cookies but the tinkerer in me was curious.  I wondered if I might be able to do something about the wheat-based flour that the original recipe calls for.  Could I replace the flour with something that would be safe for those who are allergic to wheat or gluten-intolerant? 

I've tried the popular gluten-free flour blend of brown rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch.  But I seized the opportunity to go off the beaten GF trail and combine some flour alternatives that have accumulated in my pantry, flours that I must have bought after seeing recipes that I wanted to try but sadly haven't gotten to yet.  I opted for a more protein-rich mix of garbanzo flour (boy, I have a lot of that around!), potato starch, and quinoa flour.


The cookies turned out delicious!  Texture-wise and tastewise, they were very similar to the original recipe.  These cookies were able to attain a more golden brown color than when I make the original homestyle cookies.  (Perhaps the molasses that I always omit usually helps with browning?)  I think the quinoa flour adds a slight nutty flavor but this works fine with the chocolate.  And I don't know why, but big chocolate chunks elevates these cookies to another level.

Bakery-style Chocolate Chip Cookies - free of the top 8 allergens
Adapted from Dreena Burton's homestyle chocolate chip cookie recipe featured on her Vive La Vegan! blog and cookbook of the same name

Dry ingredients:
1 cup garbanzo flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup turbinado "raw" sugar

Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup Enjoy Life mega chocolate chunks or 1 cup of safe chocolate, coarsely chopped
Extra sea salt (flakes are great) for sprinkling, optional

1. Preheat 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease or line 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.  Make sure any clumps of flour or starch are broken up to ensure even mixing.
3. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  Pour oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract into the well and mix the wet ingredients together.
4. Gradually combine wet and dry ingredients, stirring through the dough so that there are no pockets of dry ingredients left.  The dough will be a little thin, not as sticky and thick as a typical gluten-full cookie mix.  Then stir in chocolate chunks. 
   
5. Spoon out 1 to 1.5-inch balls of cookie dough on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with additional sea salt flakes if you so desire.  Leave 2 inches of space between each cookie -- these cookies do spread quite a bit!
6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes or until cookies begin to turn golden.  Promptly remove from oven and let cool.

I find these vegan chocolate chip cookies -- Dreena's original or this gluten-free alternative -- very easy to prepare.  We are planning to do some cookie sales this summer to raise funds for the FARE Walk for Food Allergy.   Adding chocolate chunks versus chips is a fun touch to look more professional.

Pasta with Garlic and Lemon

To echo the sentiments of my blogging "spouse" Sarah, I'm so sorry for being so quiet lately! 

My kids are in the home stretch of their school year and, as the last day of school draw closer, things have been getting busier and busier.  I am enjoying their futsal games, swim and soccer classes and helping out more with field trips, fundraisers, classroom, and schoolwide activities.  At the same time, I have needed to balance their school and extracurriculars with my other needs: exercise (my sanity keeper!), cooking, and household chores.  In addition, it didn't help blogging matters that the couple of times I did find myself with time enough to be creative in the kitchen, my dessert attempts were complete failures!  These wasted precious time, energy, and not-so-cheap ingredients while also zapping my kitchen confidence and enthusiasm.

The pitiful results of my attempt at making a vegan chocolate cream roll.

The blog has been patiently waiting its turn as it got temporarily pushed by the wayside by more immediate and urgent to-dos.  I hope, with summer vacation just days away, the blog can makes its ascent back towards the top of my long priority list!  (Here's hoping a lazy summer can help shorten that list, too.)

Having lost my baking mojo, I needed to find a recipe to get me back in the cooking mood.  I decided to go for a simple pasta dish (yeah, not a baked dessert --  I'm still licking my wounds from my recent cake failures).  I found a recipe on Pink Parsley Blog and knew it would be a perfect dish to try.

This dish is so easy, I've made it multiple times for my kids and they have loved it every time.  I added to the dish by incorporating some nutrient-rich leafy greens.  If kale isn't your thing, I have used spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, and chopped red bell pepper with yummy results.  And definitely add in Trader Joe's vegan mozzarella shreds as it makes for a delicious faux Parmesan cheese.  The ultra thin, short shreds have the right texture and taste that adds a punch to pasta dishes.   If you do not have a Trader Joe's near you, rumor has it that Galaxy Foods is the supplier for Trader Joe's vegan mozzarella shreds.

A quick word about kitchen tools: I bought a Microplane grater last year on the advice of one of my son's preschool teachers.  It makes grating lemon zest so easy.  I tried this with fresh ginger with less-than-ideal results (I stick with a normal, little handled grater for that).  I'm not sure how it does with hard cheeses because we are a milk-free house due to food allergies.  Having said that, I still love mine even though I only use it for citrus zest!

Pasta with Garlic and Lemon
Adapted from Pink Parsley's recipe for pasta with garlic, olive oil, and lemon
1 lb dry pasta (regular, whole wheat, gluten-free -- any pasta will do!)
Olive oil
Leaves of 1 to 2 bunches of kale, washed and torn into small pieces
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
8 cloves of garlic, minced
Dried or freshly chopped basil, oregano, or parsley (optional)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 cup of Trader Joe's vegan mozzarella cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Boil pasta to al dente according to package directions.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.  Then drain and rinse completely to halt cooking process.
2. Heat a small amount of olive oil over medium heat.  (I use the same pot that I used for cooking the noodles.)  Add kale leaves to the pot and some salt.  Cook the kale, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.  Remove kale from heat and to a separate plate when the leaves have begun to wilt from cooking.
3. Heat up more olive oil (start with 1/4 cup) in the pot.  Add red pepper flakes and minced garlic to the oil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring to avoid browning or burning the garlic.  
4. When garlic starts to turn golden, toss in pasta noodles.  Mix in basil, oregano, and/or parsley to taste.  Toss pasta.
5. Add cooked kale, lemon juice, and zest and toss pasta to mix.  
6. If the pasta looks a little dry, feel free to add small amounts of the reserved cooking liquid, more olive oil, or more lemon juice.  
7. When the pasta is well-coated with sauce, remove from heat.  Add in the vegan cheese.  
8. Taste test the pasta and add in more salt, pepper, lemon, or vegan cheese as needed.

Here's to some easy meals this summer.  After a long school year, we all deserve a little break!

Baking Therapy--Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies: No dairy, egg, or nuts

I apologize for how quiet it's been around here.  May means both days and evenings are packed with various end-of-the-year activities and events that are fun and exhausting.  So even though it feels quiet out there, there's plenty going on around here.

Logan is finishing up his soccer season, Tristan is knee-deep into Little League playoffs, the kids are preparing for final rehearsals for their annual dance recital, and I am busy shuttling them around to all of these things.  I am looking forward to lazy summer beach and playground days, trips to the library and museum, and picnics and bike rides in the park; but before the reprieve of summer, there's still so much to do!

A few days ago, I was up all night with a migraine.  My headaches are the one thing that can slow me down.  My body is telling me to drink more water, eat regularly, get more sleep, and reduce the stress!  As moms, we know we frequently become last priority.  So the next day, I headed to the gym, then came home and decided to leave the messy house and piles of laundry alone--some baking therapy was what I needed!

I am always looking for a new and easy chocolate dessert recipe.  I love cookies in particular because they are easy to transport, package, and eat without too much fuss (if you have a four-year-old who only likes the frosting off of cupcakes, and two boys who don't like frosting at all, you know what I'm talking about).  They are perfect for bake sales, teacher's gifts, and cookie jar fillers.  And who doesn't like a good chocolate chip cookie?  Especially when it's a chocolate chocolate chip cookie, free of dairy, egg, and nuts.

I modified this Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from food.com to make it egg and dairy free.  I feel like it would do well with a gluten-free flour mix, too.  Now if you have been really good at watching your diet in the hopes that your tropical vacation in a couple of weeks will include something remotely resembling a bathing suit (ahem...), you might want to forgo baking these cookies.  They're incredibly addicting, especially for the chocoholic.

Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies-- NO EGG, NO DAIRY, NO NUTS modified from food.com's Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe

1-1/4 cups Earth Balance

2 cups sugar

2 egg equivalent of Ener-G Egg Replacer (1 T. Ener-G plus 4 T. warm water, whisked together in a small bowl)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour (or gluten-free flour substitute)

3/4 cup cocoa (I use Ghiradelli Unsweetened Cocoa)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips (I use Trader Joe's Semi-Sweet Chips.  Try Enjoy Life mini chips or mega chunks for a variation)

Directions

1.  Cream together Earth Balance and sugar.  Add 2-egg equivalent of Ener-G Egg Replacer and vanilla extract.

2.  Stir in cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

3.  Add the flour and fold in the chocolate chips.

4.  Bake at 350 on parchment lined baking sheet for 8 - 9 minutes.

Pepita Fudge - full of indulgence but free of the top 8 allergens

Mother's Day, Father's Day, Teacher Appreciation Week, the end of the school year...in spring there are many events when we celebrate and thank those who make a huge difference in the lives of our children.  I would love to pick out the perfect gifts that truly show how much I appreciate these special people in our lives but I seldom feel like I get it right.  (Oh, how I wish I could give and receive the gift of time!!)  What I have become accustomed to doing is giving a gift card and a homemade treat -- a way for the recipient to choose what is their perfect gift and a personal way for me to show some love.

Cookies are often my go-to gifts but sometimes it's nice to go a little different, a little more decadent.  And with the weather warming up in my part of the country in the 90s this week and last, it's nice to have a treat recipe that won't add 10 degrees on to an already sweltering kitchen.  I recently discovered a 5-minute vegan fudge recipe that fits the bill.   The recipe comes from Hannah Kaminsky, the amazingly talented (and young!) author of the dessert cookbook My Sweet Vegan.  It is a naturally dairy-free, egg-free, wheat-free, gluten-free recipe that I have adjusted to be free of soy, tree nuts, and peanuts as well!

My first batch of fudge using semisweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of pepitas

The recipe is so quick and easy, it almost feels like cheating!  As I am wont to do, I tweaked the recipe a bit to fit my tastes.  I cut down the sweetness by reducing the amount of powdered sugar.  I really wanted to decrease the sweetness even more but I know that a certain amount of powdered sugar is needed in order for the fudge to set properly.  In a second batch I substituted unsweetened baking chocolate for semisweet chocolate and sweetened cocoa -- sadly this is all I happened to have at the time -- with pretty good results.  It was hard to melt the baking chocolate and the fudge turned out a little softer but it still holds up pretty well.  I think unsweetened baking chocolate and a mix of unsweetened cocoa with a little bit more powdered sugar could work to achieve a less sweet, soft fudge but I am not positive.  I haven't tried it and we have quite a lot of fudge to get through before I'm ready to make a new batch!  (I will update this post once I try this but do let me know if you try it sooner!)  Instead of adding nuts to the fudge I added roasted pepitas, the edible part of pumpkin seeds. I like to include seeds to counter the sweetness and to add more texture to the fudge.

A perfect way to showcase your fudge and impress that special person in your life is to wrap the chocolates in a candy box.  I found cake slice boxes online at Amazon.com but you can also find them at your local crafts supply store.  Buy some mini-cupcake liners and some ribbon and you now have the makings of a fancy gift!

I thought about cutting the fudge into heart shapes but, really, why complicate things?  It's chocolate. C'mon.  We moms love delicious chocolate no matter what it looks like.  And, to dads who are braving the kitchen to make these treats: we moms will gladly take simple squares instead of an extra pile of cutters, knives, and dishes waiting by the sink to be washed.  (Of course, my husband would never do that to me...except for on Valentine's Day, oh maybe 15 years ago.)

Vegan fudge using 1/3 cup pepitas and baking chocolate instead of semisweet chips

Feel free to double this recipe for thicker chunks of fudge or triple it and pop it in a 13"x9" pan.

Chocolate Pepita Fudge
Adapted from Hannah Kaminsky's recipe from her vegan dessert book My Sweet Vegan

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
1 cup of dairy-free chocolate chips or 4 oz unsweetened baker's chocolate squares
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
dash of salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup roasted, unsalted pepitas

1. Whisk together cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chocolate chips (or baking chocolate) and dash of salt in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. In a separate small saucepan, cook coconut oil and coconut milk over low heat.  Stir to melt coconut oil.
3. When the mixture just begins to bubble (it takes just a minute or two), turn off heat and remove from burner.  
4. Add vanilla extract and a dash of salt to saucepan.
5. Add dry mixture to saucepan.  Stir until mixture is melted and smooth.  You may have to try heat the mixture more to melt the baking chocolate.
6. Stir in pepitas.  Then spread fudge in a greased or lined 8-inch square pan.  
7. Cool the fudge completely on counter top.  When it is cool, refrigerate fudge for several hours to set.   Makes approximately 3 dozen 3/8-inch squares of fudge.  
8. For thicker, roughly 3/4-inch fudge squares, simply double the recipe and set in an 8-inch square pan.

*If you are using unsweetened baker's chocolate in place of semisweet chocolate chips, you will need to add your baking squares with the coconut oil and coconut milk.  Heat mixture, stirring occasionally, until squares melt.

Raising kids -- especially kids with food allergies and other medical needs -- takes a village.  It is a weighty task that requires love, understanding, and patience.  No thank-you would be quite as powerful without the voices of our children to echo their appreciation for the work of their teachers, parents, caregivers, and advocates.  Be sure to allow time for your kids to make cards and pictures for that special person!  If your kids are feeling particularly inspired, check out some of our craft ideas for flowers, more flowers, cards, and flower cards.